Recapping the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season
Max Gallo, Meteorologist

The Atlantic Hurricane season is typically known to be active and sometimes surprising, with this past 2024 season having been no exception. Between an active start in June with Hurricane Beryl, the months-long lull in the basin during the summer, and a busy close to the season, this year certainly kept meteorologists busy. It is easy for one to just label this as just another "active year", however determining why this occurred can help us better understand future seasons to come.

While June is considered to be one of the quietest months of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, that did not prevent Hurricane Beryl from shattering long-standing records and solidifying itself in the history books as the earliest-forming Category 5 hurricane in the basin's recorded history. This system amazed the meteorology community for its persistent strength and the lengthy path it carved across the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, crushing the islands of the Grenadines and not meeting its demise until reaching Texas a week into July.

Aside from a small handful of briefly named tropical systems, the 2024 would go silent between Beryl's dissipation in early July until mid-late August. Between this time frame was a prolonged lull across the basin. A large plentiful plume of Saharan dust is thought to be the dominant reason behind this lull, as dust created a thick layer in the atmosphere which suppressed moisture in the basin. Widespread dry air combined with the suppression of the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), an area where trade winds converge and can create the rotation needed for tropical development. This area is known to shift north and position itself firmly in the Atlantic basin as the season progresses. However in 2024, the ITCZ was delayed in its transition north, further inhibiting development in the already less favorable environment.

Once the aforementioned features resolved themselves, the busy season inevitably got into full swing, starting off with Ernesto in mid-late August. Ernesto by and large did not make any worldwide headlines, but residents of Bermuda certainly felt the effects of their first landfalling hurricane in 4 years. Ernesto commenced a stream of named tropical systems, with a total of 14 ranging from Ernesto to Sara between mid August and mid November, which was more the 3/4 of the named storms through the season. Though each and every system is not discounted, the most notable storms were Major Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which pummeled the Western coast of Florida just 3 weeks apart. Both of these hurricanes' exact paths do not truly display how far effects reached, with residents of both Eastern Florida and the Bahamas all feeling deteriorating conditions.

One of the most common ways meteorologists quantify just how busy and strong of a season each year had is a aggregate total of Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE). In simplest form, this is a summation of maximum sustained velocities when systems are of tropical storm force. The ACE value will always vary based on the events of that current season, though has a climatological average (1991-2020) at the end of the season of about 121. In comparison, the 2024 season's final ACE value was 161.6, crushing climate averages. Reverting back to Beryl being considered an outlier for its time of year, its season-leading ACE value of 35.1 almost equals this gap between this year's ACE and that of the climatological average.

This is a graph comparing the climatological average (1991-2020) of Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) compared to the ACE value of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season. (Colorado State University)

With this hurricane season in the books as the second-costliest year on record, inflicting more than $220 Billion in damage in total, residents and travelers of the Caribbean are excited to resume activities in the region. Unfortunately this is easier said than done, as the conclusion of the hurricane season is typically followed close by a persistent strong ridging pattern, and the first two weeks of December have matched this climatological norm. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as the "Christmas Trades", an unofficial term Meteorologists commonly use to describe trade winds that persist across the Caribbean Sea throughout December. At times, the only break in this pattern are frontal passages, which can result in complicated and small windows of sometimes marginally improved weather conditions. To help aid in locating these small windows, WRI meteorologists are ready to assist any onward passages through the rest of this challenging winter season.

 

Captain Charlie Kiss - 2024 Recipient of the Weather Routing Inc. Appreciation Award.
Jeffrey Springer

Captain Charlie Kiss of the M/Y Freedom was awarded with the Weather Routing Inc. Appreciation Award for 2024. This award is given to Captains for their loyalty to WRI. I was given the opportunity to interview him recently over the phone. I was fascinated to hear all about his long and successful career and am honored to share what I learned from him.

Captain Charlie Kiss with the Appreciation Award

JS (Jeff Springer): When did you get started in yachting and what made you pursue this profession?

CK (Charlie Kiss): I started in 1977 back when I was living in Stamford, CT. I didn't realize this was a career and didn't know what a yacht was at the time. I was around the age of 17 years old. My mentor (owner-operator) showed me the lifestyle, which I didn't know existed at the time, which included fine food, country clubs, nice houses etc. The biggest boat at the time was 160ft-180ft and was named "Empress Subaru."

JS: How long have you been a Captain now?

CK: For over 30 years now. I got my Captain's license in 1987 and got my first command in the early 1990s. I made the decision to persue this after my sister passed away.

JS: What's your favorite or most memorable experience as a Captain?

CK: I love when guests are leaving the boat and they cry with joy because they had a great time. The boat runs on 3 things: safety, enjoying yourself, and making memories. Additionally on 3 separate occasions, I have done burials at sea. Unfortunately, no weddings yet but there is still the future.

JS: Do you have any favorite destinations to travel to?

CK: First, the Bahamas. That is the best destination. Second, the Northeast. Then 3rd the Caribbean.

I told him I am from Lowell, MA and asked if he would say Massachusetts is the best destination up here. He said he would put that first and then Maine. For the most part, the vessel stays at dock most of the time and MA and ME have the most available docks. He is okay with not going back to the Caribbean, even though it is in his top 3. This is due to the strong trade winds that can make conditions both at sea and at anchor uncomfortable. He jokingly mentioned that the anchor gets used more for testing then for actually anchoring offshore as they are normally at dock.

JS: How long have you been working with WRI?

CK: Since 1991 when I was the Captain of a sport fisher.

JS: Can you remember a time where we saved you a lot of trouble while you were under way?

CK: With the sport fisher, WRI called me in either 1991 or 1992 as I was heading from Mexico to Key West. WRI advised the seas were going to build towards 5-7 feet within the next few hours. Sure enough, the seas did build and I was prepared for it.

There were also three hurricane stories he shared with me. First, he was located in Annapolis when Hurricane Isabel was going to make a close pass. We advised he move south towards South Carolina, which he did. He did a nonstop voyage leaving at midnight and ran 36 hours down to North Myrtle Beach. He got into dock with 15 minutes to spare as they shut down the bridge he had just went under. As he was on the south side of the storm, conditions were mitigated and he only experienced 20-30 knots with gusts up to 40 knots within protected waters. Second, he was just south of Frances in 2004 as he was located in Saint Thomas. And later that same year he was just  north of Hurricane Jeanne. For both of these Hurricanes we helped advise the conditions daily and kept him up to date.

 

Hurricane Isabel 2003 Path

JS: What would you say to a Captain who is interested in trying us out?

CK: If you want good forecasts, contact WRI. Don't be scared to have them hold your hand and ask for exactly what you want. They have helped me so much. I've had Captains ask me why I get a forecast for something as simple as a sea trial. I tell them once you get into the habit of getting a forecast prior to departure, you keep getting them. I don't leave the boat without the life vests, why leave without the forecast. Additionally, this helps for insurance reasons in case anything were to happen. Thankfully I have only had to write one insurance claim for the boat, which was due to a lightning strike in 2017.

I appreciated hearing Captain Charlie's story and look forward to working with him more in the future!